Walking in the Dark
by MegamanX20100
Summary: I have no idea what happened before I awoke here...as some marshmallow creature... All I know is that I don't belong here. What's happened to me, and how do I get back? *Rated T for cartoonish violence and injury* P.S: Yes, I know the cover sucks. Not everyone is an artist in the world, and I'm one of those not-so-artistic ones. At least I tried. Reviews are very much appreciated!
1. Beginnings

(Author's Note 6-15-14: First of all, Happy Father's Day to everyone this applies to! Have a good one! Second off, beginning today, the story here has now been _completely _rewritten from the ground up, hopefully for the better. My special thanks to the one reviewer who pointed out the huge flaw that had me rewrite this while it was still at a manageable size. Hopefully this worked!)

"Ungh, ah… Where, where am I?"

I could barely remember anything before this moment, waking up this one day. But what a night I must've had. I felt completely different.

I finally awakened, and scanned my surroundings. I saw a green field that I was out cold in, but this scene doesn't look _or _feellike anywhere I've been. The grass felt too cushiony and soft; the overall place looking too surreal. And my own body…feeling just as soft as the grass?

I finally jumped up to my feet, or more stumbled around trying to get up, and looked down at my—

Wh-what the hell happened to me!? Why do I have nubs for hands? Why do I have no legs? And why is my body so round? I feel like a marshmallow! What in the world is even going on around here!? Why am I here? Why am I this—

But, suddenly, a quake threw me off of my feet, making me face-plant hard. Where did that come from? I didn't really see anything that could cause quakes, as it stands. I got myself up slowly, and scanned around the area, finally finding a dirt path that led over a hill. Was this going to lead me to the source? Well, there's only one way to find out.

Running down the path, I got to the top of the hill and looked down to see an already ruined town being devastated by…a one-eyed cloud? Yeah, alright, let's go with that. Have I just gone insane? Why is there just a random, sentient cloud up in the air attacking a town!?

There's no time to think about that now; if this is really happening, I could be in trouble! I dashed down the hill as quickly as I could without stumbling or tripping over myself, racing towards the town. It might seem like it's in complete shambles, but maybe there's at least one survivor. All I need is one.

If even one person is down there, it'll all be worth it.


	2. Confrontation

I finally made it to the town in minutes' time, only to see absolute ruin. I didn't even find a single person around, dead _or _alive. No building was even close to standing; they were all just about ground up from whatever it's had to face in God knows how long.

But, as I gawked at the damage and ruin, I forgot about the very thing that made me dash over here, until harsh blasts of lightning struck around me from above!

Looking up, I saw the ominous eye of the puffy cloud staring down right at me. This being didn't even seem real, and yet that stare instilled a very real fear. I froze and tensed up; I had no words to describe my fear. It had _lightning rods_ sticking out of it, for crying out loud! Freaking **_lightning rods_**! This couldn't possibly be real, right?

The cloud beast fired off another lightning blast that I was quick to jump out of the way from. But, I know I can't escape now, and I'll get fried eventually! I jumped again to avoid another lightning strike, but how long would this last?

This stupid charade played on for another few strikes, until I tripped myself up and fell hard on the dirt ground! I rolled over face up to see that cloud looming over me once again. Ergh… Was this already it for me? I closed my eyes, unwilling to look, as I heard the lightning strike. But, I didn't fall dead. Instead, I heard a clash, and a slash.

I opened my eyes to see a round-bodied, masked knight, holding a golden, thorned sword to his side. He also had a large, dark-blue cape, with dark blue sleeves, gloves, and purple metallic shoes. "It's foolish to be strolling around this late at night," he stated, obviously directing it to me. "All sorts of demon beasts make their appearances when the sun falls."

"H-huh?" I looked at my savior curiously. "Demon beasts?"

But he had already ignored me, jumping up to confront that...whatever it is... He immediately dealt a harsh slash to it, sending it back slightly and leaving it to retreat...for now. Landing once again, he walked towards me and gave me a good look. "You seem to be an unfamiliar face..."

I found myself unable to speak. I had no idea who I was talking to! Was he really a friend?

Could I really even trust this person?


	3. A Fickle Conversation

I stood there for about a minute, staring at this knight's mask, trying desperately to say something. But, I could come up with nothing. Silence prevailed over the two of us, as we both stood there, staring at each other for over a minute, with his golden eyes glowing and fading.

Finally, the swordsman broke the silence. "May I ask who you might be?"

I still hesitated, but I, at the very least, spoke this time. "Uh, um, my name is Matthew, sir."

"Hm." The dark blue knight nodded slowly. "I'm glad to have finally found a survivor here. And please, just call me Meta Knight."

"Meta Knight, hm?"

"What brings you out here at this hour? Do you not realize the dangers at this hour?"

"Well, no, I don't, actually."

Meta Knight gave a brief sigh. "So, I take it you are not from around here."

"P-perhaps."

Meta Knight's eyes, to my surprise, changed color to green! "I will repeat myself. I take it you are not from around here."

I jumped back and scowled. "What's it to you?"

He sighed. "It's a simple answer, Matthew. Are you from around here, or not?"

I wasn't going to leave his sight without an answer, but I really don't want to even talk to him…

His eyes turned back to yellow. "I'm waiting."

I really have no choice here, do I? "N-no, I'm not from around here. H-happy?

"Then it's only right that I explain what has happened here, but…" He grabbed me by the hand and started to run with me. "I'm taking you to my ship. There, we can talk."

The hell does he think he's doing just picking me up!? "Wh-whoa! What do you think you're—"

"Fine then." The knight stopped and put me down. "Then, how about you decide? You can stay out here and risk being attacked once again by a demon beast, or you can come with me and perhaps have somewhere to sleep for the night."

Gah…he has a point, as much as I hate to say it. Even though I don't even trust him—forget that; I still believe this is all fake—he's the only one _to _trust right now. It's either follow him and have a chance, or stay out here and most certainly die.

"Your decision, Matthew."

"Bah, fine. But only because I have no choice."

"I care not of your reason." He started to run once again, and I quickly followed behind. "Try and keep up."


	4. A Ship Full of Doubts

We both ran quite a distance, with me occasionally tripping up in the process (each time, I got a disapproving sigh from the swordsman), until we finally reached one of the largest ships I've ever seen. This thing looks like it can fit a few hundred people in here… We came up to the back, where a large door was already opened. Meta Knight stopped by the entrance and looked to me, as I stopped. "I present to you my pride and joy, the great Halberd—"

"That's great," I immediately retorted. "That's amazing, even. But I have a _problem._" I was starting to get annoyed, and fast. Did this knight even understand what I'm going through right now!?

"Of course," he replied speedily. "I promise to aid you however I can."

Yeah, sure. Fat chance. You're just so lucky I have no alternative with these monsters wandering outside…

"I truly hope you can trust me with that, at the very least. I'm a knight, a man of my word."

"A man of your word!? I don't even know what you are! I come to in this random hell you call a world and you just come in saying you'll help me!? With what, might I ask!?"

"Do you expect me to know?"

"Then do you expect me to trust your 'honor'? Your 'word', or whatever the hell you want to call it!?"

"Why would I even wish to aid you otherwise? I would've simply killed you in a moment's notice."

"Perhaps you wanted to keep me for your own reasons! I, I can't even believe that this is real…!" I tried to help myself, but I immediately started to cry. I can't believe that any of this actually happened! This can't be happening! This is just a dream! I just have to wake myself up. I just have to wake up!

"Please, Matthew, wrest control of yourself. You must stay strong and hold your head high up."

"For what reason!? I have no reason to even be around, no reason to keep going!"

"I will not allow you to do that!" The knight's eyes immediately glowed a bright crimson red as he grabbed my arm in a death grip and pulled me closer. "I promise to you that no option is more foolish than willingly choosing death."

I've had enough of this crap. I panicked and freed my arm from Meta Knight's devastatingly tight grip, pushing him down to the ground and running into the ship. I darted into one of the rooms in the giant hallway, my eyes pouring out tears at this point. I closed the door behind me and turned whatever lock it had, only to hear a pair of voices behind me.

"Hm? Blade, who might this be?"

"I've never seen him, but, he reminds me of Kirby…"

Oh crap, what have I done?


	5. Misunderstood

I turned around to the two voices behind me, to find two heavily armored swordsmen… Well, at least they looked more human than that Meta Knight, if only slightly. One was clad in a light-weight, green armor with a pink facemask, and was the shorter of the two. The other was clad in a heavy-weight, purple armor, and was taller than the other by a considerable margin. I looked at both warily before backing myself all the way against the door, once more in panic. Why the hell was all of this happening!?

"O-oh…!" The purple one started to inch carefully toward me. "No, no need to worry, sir. We have no reason to harm you—"

"Get away!" I shouted at them without hesitation, cutting off the purple one's speech. "Don't you touch me!"

"Ah…no, please—"

"Stop! Don't make another move towards me! Don't you even dare!" I pushed myself more and more against the door behind me, unable to even think straight! I looked around desperately for an easy way to escape, but couldn't… But I slowly tried to unlock the locks behind me.

The green one finally started to approach me as well, coming around my other side. "Please… Sword speaks the truth. We have absolutely no reason to harm you in any way."

I stared down both of the knights, seeing their sheathed swords, which of course only made me tense up further. "How could you two even say such a thing with swords at the ready!? No way are you tricking me like that!"

They each took another step towards me.

And I panicked even more, finally just turning to try and unlock the remaining lock to bolt out of there. I got the door open, and was ready to run off, but they took advantage of my looking away, grabbing onto my arms and easily restraining me. "N-no! Get off of me!" My breathing began to quicken. My heart raced. What were these armor-clad knights going to do to me? What was their true intention!? "P-please! Don't hurt me! Don't do anything to me!"

I kicked and screamed some more, struggling to free myself, until I heard Meta Knight's voice from behind. "What seems to be the cause of your worries?"

I stopped for a moment to look back at the masked knight (at this point, I was on the ground face-up), but seized up even more to see he had his own sword in his hand! I obviously didn't even hesitate to use up every ounce of strength to try and squeeze out. "Wait! No, please! Don't end it now!"

One of the two knights holding me down yelled to me once again. "Please, sir! Don't panic! We are not here to hurt you!"

"Lies! Lies! It's all a bunch of lies!" I started to struggle even more, and began to cry. "Why did you all bring me here to die!?"

Despite my extreme panic, Meta Knight's calm and collected voice still rang as calmly as before. "Sword. Blade. Let him go." I caught him sheathing his sword. Could he actually be serious…? "Can you not see you two are worrying him?"

"As you wish, Sir Meta Knight." The two immediately took their hands off of me, allowing me to get up. I, of course, immediately faced Meta Knight, but was too stunned for words.

The masked knight once again began to speak. "What seems to be the problem?"

I stammered, trying to answer swiftly. "Uh, well, erm, I just—"

"Perhaps it's all of this that you must take in?" Meta Knight stepped back, nodding. "Yes, you went on about that for a while before you finally decided that coming with me was your best plan of action."

I took a deep breath and continued to maintain eye contact with the masked knight. His gaze was unwavering as I tried to calm myself down enough to answer him. "W-well, of course… It's not normal for strangers to be so…willing…to give me a hand."

"Then, perhaps it is partially my fault for failing to realize such differences."

"I still can't believe a race like this;" I motioned to myself; "even exists."

Despite the panic that had ensued, Meta Knight chuckled at my statement. "The only thing I can assure you of is that we are not merely figments of your imagination."

I couldn't help but sigh at that statement, though. Yeah, either they're real, or I'm going through a hell of an LSD trip. And, either way, it seems I lose.

"Please, you can trust us."

I hesitated as I mulled over my answer. Sure, Meta Knight has proven somewhat that he does not wish to hurt me, but can he really help me?


	6. Trust in me

After a while, I was finally able to stammer to an answer. "Y-you really think you can help me?"

"Of course." Meta Knight's eyes turned a light green as he nodded. "You are now my responsibility here in Pop Star, and I intend to keep you safe until you find a way home."

"If I find a way back, but what if I can't?"

"What would be wrong with simply taking you in?"

I jumped back, rather surprised at how quickly his answer came out. "What!? You couldn't be serious!"

"Of course I am." Meta Knight's eyes turned back to yellow. "I am perfectly happy with keeping you here as part of family."

"What? As family? Please... Now you're just being absurd."

"Absurd? How so? It would either be that we take you in, or send you off on your own."

I froze. As much as I hated to admit it, the masked knight was right again. But, now is not the time to think about it. First thing's first, I have to find out if it actually is possible for me to find a way back and return to normal.

"Matthew. Let us not waste any more time with conversation, and let us begin our search for answers."

I nodded, and gave a quick hidden smile. "Yes, sir."

"Oh, no, please just call me Meta Knight."

"Ah, yes, Meta Knight, sir!"

The knight couldn't help but give a slight chuckle. "And you still slip in that title of 'Sir.' Fine, then."

I quickly turned to the other two knights; the green one was to my left, and the purple one to my right. "But, I never got the names of these two."

"Of course. The one to your right is Sword Knight, while the one to your left is Blade Knight."

Sword Knight started first. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Matthew, was it?"

"Indeed," Blade Knight followed up, "T'is a pleasure."

I shook both of their extended hands with one of my own, giving them both a nod. "Okay, now that we've all introduced each other...properly, that is—"

"Yes," Meta Knight cut in, "it is time to learn exactly what we have happening here-"

"Actually, I have one more question." I sighed slightly. I hated being so clueless.

"We're listening. Ask us as many questions as you please."

"One of you two;" I pointed to both Sword Knight and Blade Knight; "mentioned someone—or something—called Kirby."

"Say no more. Yes, I had forgotten to give to you the story of our planet's undoing." He started to walk toward the two beds in the room, motioning for me to come over. "Please, make yourself comfortable. This is going to be a long story."


	7. A Reminisce

I quickly ran to one of the beds and jumped up on it, sitting at its edge. I still couldn't be completely certain of him, but at least I started to trust him, somewhat. "I'm ready. Lay it on me."

"Of course. But, it is only fair if I start from the beginning."

"I figured as much."

"Everything started long ago for me, back in an era before Pop Star or Dreamland. I was one of many Star Warriors who banded together to fight against the great and evil Nightmare, who intended to take over the universe, or, at the very least, the known universe at the time."

"You _were _a Star Warrior? And what even is a Star Warrior?"

"A Star Warrior is loosely defined as a defender of the cosmos. However, that is a misinterpretation. A Star Warrior is a chosen warrior, characterized by their dedication to justice, courage, and persistence. Some were born Star Warriors; others became Star Warriors. I still am a Star Warrior, but I am no longer one of many; I am only one of few."

"O-oh, I see."

"Yes, many of my fellow comrades lost their lives in the grand-scale battle. However, in the end, we won. We succeeded in driving Nightmare back, and left him with nothing. But, little did I know he would come back. When he did return once again, I had begun settling down here, and was not as great a fighter as I was back then. Thus, Nightmare's new forces overwhelmed me significantly."

"And that's how it became such a wasteland now?"

"No, that was when Kirby arrived. Simply put, imagine yourself, but, instead of being tinted blue, you are tinted pink. That was Kirby."

"Kirby?"

"He was seemingly completely oblivious to whatever went on around him, and could not even speak. Yet, he was a great fighter, worthy of being called a Star Warrior." He sighed. "He was a merciful soul, and it seems that finally got the better of him."

"Is he…the reason for this?"

"Not quite, but his disappearance made Nightmare's work easy. His overwhelming forces caused me to stay away and retreat, allowing the town to be destroyed."

"So he is the reason for this."

"The blame cannot be placed on him, especially with another Star Warrior we also lost. Unlike Kirby, however, it is not a case of him missing."

"Wait, but if he's not missing—"

"He died a long while ago, and that is all I will say."

"O-oh." I shook my head. "You won't say anything else?"

"I shall only say that it was not in vain." The masked knight sighed and looked away for a moment, only to look back at me and continue. "He did the right thing."

"I think I can connect the dots with this one, yeah."

"In any case, after the first war, I was the only Star Warrior at the time. Then, Kirby and the other Star Warrior appeared after Nightmare made his return."

"And now, you're left alone once again."

"Precisely. However, I know Kirby must still be alive. I know not where, but he must be alive."

"I think I understand the situation a little bit. I guess it's not a surprise that you had a relation with the two?"

"Yes. They were both more than just allies to me."

Alright, this back and forth is getting us nowhere. I guess it's time for us to move on. "Well, we have nowhere else to start, so how about we begin with finding this...Kirby fellow?"

"Yes, let's." Meta Knight stood himself up and walked to the door, with the two other Knights to his side, waiting to close the door. "But, we have said and done enough today. The sun has fallen, and I'm sure you would be more than happy to get some shut-eye." He walked through to the other side of the door with the two other Knights, ready to shut the door.

"I guess. Good night, then." I sighed, as I lied down on the bed, not bothering to cover myself with the blankets underneath. I was tired, without a doubt, but really don't know if I'll get a wink of sleep tonight. I still don't feel completely trusting towards these three, but at least I finally understand that what's happening is real. Now to see tomorrow if, maybe, finding this Kirby will help me get out of this. I closed my eyes, with the last thing I heard being the door to the hallway closing, before starting to drift off.


	8. A Plea for Help

Surprisingly, my sleep started off normally, but it didn't last long.

A sweet, innocent voice started to reach my ears, with my eyes still shut. It called for help once, twice, three times. Each time, the voice sounded more distressed and fearful, only to finally yell out to me, as an image of a pink puff, chained up to a wall, came into view. Was this Kirby?

The puff slowly lifted his head to face me with two large, bright blue eyes. His frown suddenly flipped into a smile, as if he had been waiting for me. "O-oh, my pleas, they've finally reached someone! Who are you, friend?"

Whoa-what? Friend? I haven't even seen him before, and yet he addresses me as a friend? "Um, tell me who you are, first!"

"Gladly. I am the Star Warrior, Kirby."

"Wait, the Star Warrior? Meta Knight mentioned you-"

However, what I said drove Kirby into a frenzy, desperately pulling against the chains. "N-no, don't tell me you've befriended that monster!"

"What? What do you mean, monster? He's a Star Warrior, too!"

The pink Star Warrior calmed himself down and sighed. "Don't believe a word he's said. I'm sure he also told you that I'm missing and that he's trying to find me, but he's lying."

"What? He's lying…?"

"Of course he is. He's the one who trapped me, years ago. There's a soundproof room deep inside the Halberd that is completely locked. Meta Knight's the one with the key!"

"And what makes me think I'll trust you so easily?"

I heard a brief sigh from him as he said the following, "I sent you here to do just that; defeat Meta Knight and free me after all these years."

"What!? You sent me here?"

"I sent a universal call out, and you were finally the first to answer it. I know you don't remember it, but trust me on that." Kirby's two eyes gave an innocent 'puppy eyes' look as his smile faded. "Why wouldn't you believe me?"

"W-well, I guess you're right. Yes, I'll do it, then."

The pink puff sighed in relief as his smile came back. "Thank you! Maybe Dreamland will finally regain peace once again." Slowly, the vision faded until it was all black.


End file.
